I would like to publicly thank David Pleat for his comment during Newcastle United's Champions League destruction of Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday. The former Luton manager said: "Systems don't win games, it's about players."
At last a respected football figure has come out with a no-nonsense response to all the flannel that's threatening to swamp football with pontification about every system from 4-4-2 to 3-5-2 and back to 4-3-3, Christmas tree formations, diamond shapes and some others that haven't even been labelled yet.
Should England play 4-3-3 or 4-4-2, should the national side have wing backs or a flat back four? Who the hell cares; a successful side would be a good start. A system is only as good as the players employed in it but there are certain basics necessary, whichever way a team lines up. Ability to control a ball, pass a ball and run, with or without a ball. There, that wasn't so difficult, was it? Okay, so there's a bit more to it than that but you get the point don't you.
Systems are all very well but, for goodness sake, whatever happened to flexibility or, dare I write the word, individuality. That dirty word that was banned in the period of PMO ('position of maximum opportunity', for those not versed on football history) The golden ingredient, the 'X' factor which can turn a game in the blink of an eye when teams are all 'systemed out'. That special ability that many aspire to but few possess.
Ryan Giggs has it, in spades, and what a slap in the face it was for his detractors for the Welsh wizard to show it in the Stadio Del Alpi in front of supporters who know a thing or two about individual genius. At least they did.
It was splendid to watch the sublime skills of Giggs open up a Juventus team that suffered its heaviest ever home defeat in European competition, a team that, currently, relies as heavily on team systems and tactics as many a top Premiership side does. But what Manchester United had on the night, in Giggs, and what we could do with seeing a lot more of in this country, is the kind of player who can transcend a system and unlock a defence with good old fashioned individual skill.
I say that we could do with seeing it more but I am not saying it isn't there. What clubs and coaches should perhaps recognise is that the individual skills a youngster may show at 12, 13 or 14 years of age should not be coached out of them. Why not attempt to nurture it whilst still extolling the virtues of a team game.
No-one would accuse Ryan Giggs of not being a team player. He certainly does his share of tracking back and has even been known to get in the odd tackle and yet he can still flick into 'overdrive' and slalom through the opposition as he did for his second goal against Juve, a goal that had those of us with grey hair (shouldn't that be receding hair? Ed) reminiscing about George Best's goals in the 1965, 5-1 win United claimed on Benfica's own ground.
Winning seems to have become the 'be all and end all' of modern football. Nothing wrong with winning but perhaps there is if it develops a fear in players that prevents them for expressing individuality. Okay, so systems are an inherent part of modern football but any formula can be cancelled out by another with the net result of stalemate, which won't do much for the watching public. Ajax v Arsenal, 24 hours later than United's master class, being a case in point, although that was more down to the Dutch side's stifling tactics than Arsenal's willingness to play the way we know they can.
Any system can be nullified by another but in applying a formula individuality cannot be eliminated because of the very uniqueness of its nature and it is that uniqueness that can turn any match on it's head. As David Pleat recognised 'systems don't win games, its about players' so please let us have more of the same. From Ryan Giggs or any player blessed with his kind of individuality and the kind of skills most can only dream of.
